Happy reading, enjoy your weekend, and see you on Monday!
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Clashing blades and blood-chilling roars echoed through the Mists as Jerry jumped from stone island to stone island. The dark water was calm beneath his feet, only revealing the slightest of ripples despite the raging battle, while the group’s members shouted warnings at each other.
"Careful!" Marcus yelled as he stepped on a shaky stone.
"Horace!" Laura called out, and an arrow whistled by her ear to meet...
2025-02-07 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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A howl cut through the mist, echoing from all directions at once. Another replied soon, followed by a third.
Everyone looked at each other, suddenly filled with adrenaline. The ambush had failed.
"RUN!"
Nobody knew who said it first, but the entire group instantly sprinted away, spreading out a bit to avoid getting in each other’s way. Axehand stood back up, glaring at the mist-faced death knight who’d sent him flying. At least, he’d delayed enough for Boboar and Headl...
2025-02-06 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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Happy day of the week where only you guys get a chapter! Hehe.
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A colossal column of black light rose from the lake’s depths to the sky. It was wide enough to fit two people with arms extended, and the mist churned where it passed, swirling around it like a vortex. In fact, the column furiously absorbed the mist, pushing it downward like a direct funnel from the sky to the bottom of the lake. There was only water below the black light, but a stone island extended in a ring ar...
2025-02-05 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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The core area of the Mists of Death was a broad valley surrounded by rolling hills. The mists from all around slithered towards here, slowly at first and then faster , distilling their very essence into the valley. Death energy covered the ground in layers, dense enough to turn liquid, forming a black lake a mile across and covered in the thickest mist they’d seen so far.
This lake was dotted by stone islands ranging in size from a table to a courtyard, close enough that people could ...
2025-02-04 18:36:04 +0000 UTC
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Happy new week bros! How's everyone? I'm sick. Mostly with the meaning of really cool, but also a little ill. Nothing which can stop me from writing, but enough that I'm mostly trapped inside the house for a couple days. The weather's so nice, too...
Bummer :(
On the other hand, I did write a bunch today, so... Enjoy!
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The moment the fake Prism broke—or, to be precise, when it hid in the monstrosity and stopped releasing the Curse—an invisible ripple spread thro...
2025-02-03 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Sup bros!
Hope you're all doing well. Me, I'm sick. Not just because I'm super cool, but also because I'm a little ill -- but nothing that can stop me from writing.
So, the Rising Stars period is over (we did better than expected!) and my backlog is running low. That means we're now switching over to the regular posting schedule which this story will follow for...ever?
Here's the deal. Ready? Chapters on all weekdays, no chapters in the weekends.
Keep in mind that soon...
2025-02-03 16:45:09 +0000 UTC
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The boundaries between different schools of magic can blur.
Take mirrors, for example; the same result can be achieved through either hydromancy or photomancy.
Another example is the connection between biomancy and necromancy. The former influences the body and the latter the soul, but these two are densely interconnected. Many applications of necromancy can be achieved through biomancy and vice versa.
Of course, each wizard wields their own fl...
2025-02-02 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Marcus sat and watched the Billies mime.
"They’re sad?" he asked. "No, trapped? Are they trapped?"
Billy One moved his hand: so and so.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" A vein popped on Marcus’s temple. "Come on, boys, try harder; how difficult can it be?"
The Billies glanced at each other, then resumed miming. They stood together, then opened their mouths in surprise and moved away from each other.
The four of them were in continuous contact with Je...
2025-02-01 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Jericho was fighting. His long, dark, oily hair swiped through the air as he ducked under a massive club, then clenched his large fist. With a fearsome roar, he buried it deep into the giant’s stomach—the highest part he could reach.
The giant reeled, pale skin going slack on its bare belly. Jericho’s punch wasn’t enough to bring it down, but that was part of the plan.
The moment the giant hunched, a wooden club thick as a trunk smashed against the back of its knees. It tr...
2025-01-31 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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"NOOO—"
A tentacle slapped the wall over Boney’s head.
"KYAAH!"
Another slapped Laura’s calf, almost making her trip. Headless roared in confusion. The terrifying creature behind them continued its silent pursuit.
They had been running for some time now. The tentacle-person didn’t seem able to close the distance, but their mad shouts had awakened every single monster in the vicinity, and tentacles kept shooting out of cracks to catch them. Thankfully, these cre...
2025-01-30 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Axehand and Horace stepped over a pile of newly created corpses and went on their way.
"I’m worried," Horace said. "If everyone is facing undead at these quantities, they might struggle a bit."
Axehand grunted in agreement. He shared the same worry—would Master make it? However, at the next moment, his eye-flames flared crimson. If Jerry wanted to be his Master, he had to be capable of at least this much.
The two of them had been traveling for a while now, crossing corri...
2025-01-29 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Akolateronim belonged to a species known as Watchers; ruthless, calculating, and fiercely intelligent floating eyeballs.
It was also the architect of the Prism Dungeon, as well as its caretaker. The Guardian, the tentacle monsters and their leader, the hell hounds… Everything here was under Akolateronim’s authority, barring the floating bones—and the intruders.
Akolateronim had not expected visitors. There wasn’t much it could do against them, either. Most of the defenses ...
2025-01-28 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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The world is strikingly magnificent and diverse beyond belief. I have witnessed winged tigers and giant lizards, tiny people and large ones, and an entire civilization under the water. I have even seen flying whales—they are not a myth, after all!
What a nice world to live in.
- From the Atlas of Homerus, page 273
In a dark, crack-filled corridor deep beneath the earth, everything was quiet. Two hands popped out from behind a corner—one ...
2025-01-27 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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"Ugh." Jerry held his head as he got off the floor. "That hurt."
He was welcomed by an affectionate oink. Boboar appeared, poking Jerry with his snot to make him feel better. Foxy was on the other side, looking at him with wide, empty eyes.
"Oh, you guys are here too!" Jerry smiled. "That’s nice. But where are we? What happened?"
Both animals looked at him wordlessly.
"You don’t know either, huh… I guess we fell into a trap. The floor opened, and here we are. I w...
2025-01-26 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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The Prism Dungeon was a place darker than even the black mists above—not due to supernatural environmental hazards, but a simple lack of illumination.
"Let there be light," Jerry whispered. A spark flashed in the darkness as a torch burned to life, shedding light in a large radius around him. "There, all set."
"What is this place?" Laura muttered, looking around. Dusty brick walls surrounded them, forming a corridor which extended into the darkness. Lines of black glass were emb...
2025-01-25 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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The darkness endlessly zoomed past, the dry earth below giving its place to more dry earth. Traveling the Mists of Death gave the illusion of wandering a fake world where space had little meaning.
It was awe-inspiring, in a sense. Terrifying, in another.
"It’s been hours!" Boney complained. "Are we getting there, Laura? Just how large are these Mists?"
"Very," she replied. "I told you, it’s a few hundred miles in diameter. That’s a lot, even for an airship."
"So ...
2025-01-24 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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The Mists of Death were a place of darkness.
The earth and sky were shrouded, while the billowing winds carried the chilling touch of death. Visibility was terrible, making the airship float alone in what seemed like infinite, all-encompassing darkness. Only an ever-present glow, like the last ray of a setting sun, prevented the Mists of Death from being totally impenetrable, as if the Gods had decided to show the mortals of this land at least some pity.
According to Laura, this g...
2025-01-23 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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The pentality of magic is present in everything.
Five schools of magic. Five types of nature spirits. Five Archmages. Five Primordials.
Why is our entire world built around photomancy, biomancy, pyromancy, hydromancy, and necromancy? These five obviously form some sort of complete system, but how? Why not aeromancy or metalomancy? No school of magic can control those elements, so where are they?.
Perhaps, every type of magic originates from som...
2025-01-22 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Jerry’s heart shook, but he insisted.
"I can try," he said. "Wizards are frail. An ambush, a trick… There have to be ways I can win."
"There aren’t. You don’t even understand how terrifying Archmages are, Jerry…" Horace’s voice suddenly broke, ending in a long, trembling sigh. "This is all my fault. If I handled this better, we would have never reached this situation. Now, we’re fucked."
Suddenly, Horace, too, turned around to look at his people, then bowed. Th...
2025-01-21 20:42:54 +0000 UTC
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Goddamn it, I'm so unused to posting regularly again. I forgot. Sorry for the delay guys. Here's the two chapters I owe you, and see you tomorrow!
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As Archmage Arakataron’s skull face appeared in a circular portal, everyone froze.
"Who are you?" he asked coldly. "And why are your zombies holding my grandson?"
By now, Jerry’s previous anger had already been vented, and his head was mostly clear. He knew what an Archmages signified. Everyone did. Horror was an und...
2025-01-21 20:42:33 +0000 UTC
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The tribe gasped collectively. People stepped back, some gazing at Horace with concern and others at the wizard with thinly veiled hatred.
"No…" A muffled sound came from the ground as Horace struggled to raise his head. Pretending or not, he was clearly hurt. "I really…wasn’t lying…"
"Bullshit!"
Another ray flashed past, burying itself in Horace’s ribs. He screamed.
"Speak, vermin! What are you hiding?"
"I swear—Gah!" A kick landed on Horace’s side...
2025-01-19 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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"Tax collectors?" Jerry stood up. "What—"
"Quick!" Horace bolted upright, his voice suddenly filled with haste. "Hide, hide, quick!"
"Horace—"
"No time to talk!" the death spirit yelled. "Hide now!"
"Follow me!" A nearby woman grabbed Jerry’s arm, pulling him aside and into a hut. His undead were similarly approached and pulled into huts, as were Marcus and Laura.
Jerry did not resist them, but he did not stay quiet either. "What’s going on?" he asked. "W...
2025-01-18 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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The days didn’t pass; they flowed.
Uninhibited, one by one, slowly yet quickly, they slid through the group with the ups and downs of a sun that changed nothing. The Akshik tribe was a place of serenity; there were no worries.
Food was rich—the swamp had plenty of edible vegetation, and the tribe knew how to safely cook zombie deer—and water came easy. Danger was practically non-existent, as all strong creatures knew to avoid the tribe’s grounds. As for those that didn’t...
2025-01-17 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Marcus wiggled his toes, then smiled under his mustache.
"Laura!" he asked. "Can we have some more, please?"
"Yes, please!" a death spirit agreed.
"It’s running low!" replied another.
Laura chuckled. "Fine," she said, waving her hands in the air. "Have a bunch."
Water jumped out of her empty palms and into a hole in the ground, replenishing what little had been absorbed by the damp soil. She then returned to lounging on her little wooden chair, burying her nose...
2025-01-16 18:36:00 +0000 UTC
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"No need to make a big deal about it." Jerry laughed. "The pleasure’s all ours!"
"Not nearly." Horace smiled back, a hint of knowledge on his black lips. He turned his body sideways, motioning to the people behind him. "Let us apologize for testing you like this. We don’t enjoy it, but it’s a necessary process to protect ourselves."
"If I may, Master." Boney stepped forth, his bone jaw clacking. "What kind of test are they talking about?"
"And what’s that about death...
2025-01-15 18:36:14 +0000 UTC
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The old woman’s voice rang out in the darkness, steeped in the mirth of old age. It was fleshy and wet, as she had no teeth, bringing a chill to those who heard it. She also spoke slowly, pausing every once in a while to breathe.
Through the darkness, Jerry could tell she had a few tattoos on her arms, but he couldn’t make them out.
"Welcome to the land of the dead," she said, smiling.
"The pleasure’s all ours, Granny," Jerry replied. "Though I have to say, this place ...
2025-01-14 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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I messed up my scheduler, but here's yesterday's chapter. Enjoy!
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Jerry, Laura, Boney, Headless, Boboar, and Foxy stood face-to-face with a bow-wielding, creepy-looking creature. It resembled a human, except its skin was paper-white and everything else was pitch-black, the kind that seemed to absorb your sight and everything around it.
Shoulder-length black hair accentuated a pale face with robust features, while black teeth—when the creature opened its mouth—served f...
2025-01-14 11:17:06 +0000 UTC
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A massive form erupted from the mud, splattering brown everywhere as it lunged for Axehand’s waist. Jerry’s eyes widened.
This was a zombie crocodile. It stretched at least six feet long, with its mouth alone taking up two, and its body was almost perfectly preserved, including its fierce teeth.
If it took hold of Axehand, this menace would violently shake him from side to side, tearing his body apart and breaking his bones. Moreover, while zombies lost some speed compared to ...
2025-01-12 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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The Mists of Death are taboo; none who enter return, or so we were told by the local death spirits. We intend to challenge that notion. We have brought wizards, warriors, equipment, knowledge, and experience; no matter what dangers lie inside, they will not faze us.
However, in the unlikely scenario that we do perish, we leave our travel log here for the future explorers of our glorious Kingdom to find.
For Alabaster,
Casius Esteban and t...
2025-01-11 18:36:01 +0000 UTC
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Jerry rubbed his eyes. It didn’t help; he could still see a whale flying in the distance.
"That’s a whale," Marcus noted.
"I would rub my eyes too…if I had any," Boney said. Axehand grunted in amusement.
"What are you talking about? Everyone knows there’s flying whales," Laura replied. "The question is, why is one here?"
"What? Where are they supposed to be?"
"Wait a moment!" Jerry exclaimed, suddenly excited. "Maybe it’s an undead!"
"Of course it...
2025-01-10 18:36:08 +0000 UTC
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